A firms competitive strategy aims to enhance its ability to modify the rules of competition to its favor. According to Porter (1985), for a firm to remain competitive, it needs to influence the threat that new entrants pose, the threat presented by substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, suppliers bargaining power and the competitive rivalry in the industry (Porter, 1985, p. 4). This paper evaluates the competitiveness of Microsoft following the entry of Geyser into the market for developing operating systems. Through the analysis, the paper will determine whether continued investment in Microsoft is prudent.
Buyer power
The bargaining power of buyers in Microsofts market is considerable. The availability of a variety of choices including free programs such as Linux that are compatible with customers systems lessens their switching costs to alternative operating systems. However, for the consumer market, partnerships with hardware manufacturers who pre-install Microsoft operating systems (Microsoft Corporation, 2011) reduce buyers bargaining power. For the corporate clients, aspects such as the investment required to train staff on changing to a new system reduce buyers bargaining power.
Supplier power
The suppliers bargaining power for the software industry is low. For Microsoft, the core suppliers are its workforce whom it needs to create new features and programs. The bargaining power for such employees is low since Microsoft has been able to avoid unions that would otherwise enhance employee bargaining power (Thibodeau, 2010). Additionally, the capability to outsource some of its labor to low-wage countries (e.g. Dudley, 2006), reduces Microsofts susceptibility to high-wage demands in its American and European markets.
The threat of substitute products or services
The threat posed by substitutes for Microsoft products is low. There are no clear substitutes for operating systems since most devices require such systems to run other programs such as browsers and word processors. Potential substitutes in Microsoft product categories such as e-mail clients include postal mail and telephone. However, the effect of these substitutes is low since they do not offer the efficiency or privacy accorded by computer-based communications.
The threat of new entrants
New entrants affect an industrys attractiveness by creating pressure on prices and costs as they attempt to gain a considerable market share (Porter, 2008). In the operating systems market, the threat of new entrants is low since new entrants would require high technical expertise to keep up with program updates needed to support changes in technology. New entrants may also not achieve adequate distribution since existing players such as Microsoft have formed partnerships with hardware manufacturers to pre-install their operating systems. Further, new entrants would need to engage in aggressive marketing to achieve comparable brand awareness to that of existing industry players.
Rivalry among existing competitors
The Rivalry among existing players is very high. Players such as Google and Apple offer better alternatives to Microsoft concerning operating systems for mobile devices (Rivlin, 2011). Other players such as Linux offer free operating systems thus putting pressure on the prices for commercial operating systems. Due to the high competitive rivalry, players in the industry must innovate constantly to remain competitive. Microsofts failure to introduce innovative systems for mobile devices affects its ability to compete effectively in the future since consumers are increasingly adopting such mobile devices for their needs (Rivlin, 2011).
The competitive analysis of Microsofts industry indicates that investment in Microsoft remains prudent but challenged by Microsofts delay to diversify its operating systems for mobile devices. New entrants, substitutes, buyers, and suppliers pose a mild threat to Microsofts competitive ability in the future. However, players such as Apple and Google, who are aggressive on the mobile-devices market, threaten to dislodge Microsoft from its market leadership. The loss of market to such players reduces the ability of Microsoft to offer good returns for its investors.
References
Dudley, B. (2006). Union trying to organize Microsoft. The Seattle Times. Web.
Microsoft Corporation (2011). 2011 annual report. Web.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, January, 78-93.
Rivlin, G. (2011). The problem with Microsoft. Fortune. Web.
The current situation of Microsoft on the market is defined by the presence of various competitors, which increase the risks for the business. The strongest of them are Google and Amazon, and their involvement in the development of software systems and cloud computing poses a threat to the company by creating the need to keep up with their ideas (Liu, 2020). Therefore, it has to implement a marketing strategy to remain a significant player on the market with regard to the specified technological solutions.
The first rival, Google, is known for its rapid elaboration of innovative solutions. For instance, Google Drive and Google Cloud became the most popular cloud platforms, and its Google Workspace and Google Apps successfully compete with Microsofts similar offers (Rosenbaum, 2020; Griffith, 2020; Hastings, 2021). One of the most important innovations is Google Cloud since it uses no-code software (Rosenbaum, 2020). Amazon has AWS (Amazon Web Services) and is also one of the leaders in the cloud market (Gillis, 2020; King and Bass, 2021). Hence, they provide sufficient numbers of alternatives to Microsofts products.
The situation of Microsoft compared to Amazon and Google seems less favorable and requires interference. It is complicated by legal issues related to its monopoly through bunding their programs with devices, whereas Amazon is currently leading concerning image (Kan, 2020; Snider, 2018). Microsofts managers already started to realize that accelerating innovation and updating products is the best way to remain competitive (Brands, 2019; Truax, 2021). Therefore, the best marketing strategy they can rely on is product development.
To summarize, the presence of Amazon and Google on the market poses a threat to Microsoft. These companies bring innovative solutions and thereby increase their share. Considering this fact alongside the above factors, the best way for Microsoft to successfully compete with them is to present programs, which have no analogs. In other words, product development is the most suitable marketing strategy in this situation.
Reference List
Brands, C. (2019) Winning the modern-day consumer in the world of consumer goods. Web.
Gillis, A. S. (2020) What is Amazon Web Services (AWS). Web.
Bill Gates originally got to work on a site called Marvel. It was later called Microsoft. The first Microsoft Internet site was launched in 1993. John Martin who was the Group Manager of Microsoft’s Corporate Network Systems group acquired the necessary permission or charter to post the Microsoft Support Resources to a public FTP server.“gowinnt.microsoft.com” was the first name of the site (Kramer, Microsoft). Later it became ftp.microsoft.com. 1994 saw the expansion of the site to include gopher and Web servers. Mark Ingalls who tried to enter the site found that it had already been used by J.Allard who was a Microsoft developer trying out his new TCP/IP. The server was then handed over to the product support group. The European Microsoft Windows Academic Consortium (EMWAC) WWW server software was used to deliver content on Windows NT 3.1. (Kramer, Microsoft). Ingalls and his team used an automated rich text-to-Html process and spent plenty of time to convince the rest of the company about the Web site’s benefits. They found the usefulness of the Web to search for matter with ease. Bill Gates commented so in 1995. Before Microsoft launched its site, most of the matter on the web was disorganized clumps of matter. Originally, updating the site was done at great intervals. Soon this became a daily affair within a year. Then the Internet Explorer 3.0 was launched. Windows 95 was a turning point and it came with the third Web server (Kramer, Microsoft).
Microsoft planned to buy a minority stake in Uunet Technologies Incorporation which was the Internet access provider. This was the strategy employed by Microsoft to conquer the Internet (Clark, 1995a). Uunet was happy that this business helped it to extend to more than its original 25 cities. Microsoft’s investment created more competition for other online service providers. Microsoft also licensed its Mosaic Technology for browsing the net (Clark, 1995). Microsoft expected to start its online service in August 1995. Many independent companies under the group ASCII filed a case against Microsoft fearing that it would cause other small companies to lose their business, illegally passing over them (Clark, 1995b). Microsoft changed its strategy of MSN online in December 1995. The content providers were unsure of how they could regain their investment (Clark, 1996).
Bill Gates had delivered a set of tools and technologies for developers in March 1996.
In the middle of 1996, as Microsoft Chairman and CEO, he defined the 3rd part of Microsoft’s strategy to deliver a group of products and services which included the “desktops, LANs, client-server applications, legacy systems, and the public Internet to create dramatically more effective corporate computing systems” (Microsoft, 1996). Intranet-related products and future technologies were announced. Microsoft’s strategy was to integrate seamlessly internal LANS with the Internet. This would improve communications between businesses, customers, and partners. New navigation paradigms were to be pioneered on the net into all products which would help users to find, create, analyze and collaborate (Microsoft, 1996). Customers could streamline business processes and shorten development cycles by simple applications. Technology investment to integrate new products and evolving Information technology systems were introduced. Bill Gates spoke about integrating the best in the computer and the best on the internet to allow businesses to grow and expand (Microsoft, 1996). The next generation intranets were to be enabled using the Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT workstation, Windows NT Server and the Directory server. Corporate users could make use of the technologies introduced.
High technology firms face the dangers of inflection points in the trajectory (Grove, 1996). Changes in the dynamics of the basic industry, the successful winning strategies, and dominant technologies cause this strategic dissonance. Strategic dissonance sends feelers to the top management who lead the organization through the turbulence of the uncertain period using innovative strategic intent. Strategic recognition is based on competitive reality and dissent and debate.
Different free goods and premium goods markets are selected by different companies (Parker and van Alstyne, 2002). In any system, the same operating system is depended upon by consumers and developers; the same credit card is accepted by cardholders and merchants and content consumers and creators, players and developers exist together. Price pairs and profits are compared in two markets. When a free good is provided in one market, this subsidized market shows increased demand and profit. The market which creates more surplus is chosen to be a subsidized one. So while some companies sell only competitive goods, others sell competitive complementary goods too (Parker and van Alstyne, 2002). When one company sells new goods which completely wipe out other competitive goods, the new good is a competitive substitute. A competitive complement justifies asking for a share of the market. MS Office or Netscape or Media Player may be a competitor while the complement could be Workstations/OX or MS Ofice/Active X. Product substitutes also justify the seeking of the share of the market. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson commented that Microsoft gave away Internet Explorer as it was concentrating on protecting the applications barrier to its operating systems (Parker and van Alstyne, 2002).
The powerful management tool of decision acceleration improves execution performance and innovation capability, reducing the cycle times of strategic change (Worley et al, 2007).
Efficient collaborative planning would maximize the productivity of resources. Stakeholder commitment would be accelerated. A bias would be created for action. “Innovative, comprehensive and practical solutions would be implemented” (Worley et al, 2007).
References
Clark, D. (1995a). “Microsoft outlines Internet strategy, which includes buying a stake in Uunet”.
The Wall Street Journal, Western Ed., Dow Jones and Company Inc.
Clark, D. (1995b). “Retailers fear Microsoft Network will leave them out of the loop; dealer group seeks action by the U.S. to prevent direct online sales” The Wall Street Journal, Western Ed., Dow Jones and Company Inc.
Clark, D. (1996). “Microsoft’s partners in the online network feel the brunt of change; new Internet model leaves some content providers without much of a home”. The Wall Street Journal, Western Ed., Dow Jones and Company Inc.
Grove, A.S. and Burgelman, R.A. (1996). “Strategic dissonance”. Web.
Kramer, D. (1999). “A brief history of Microsoft on the Web”. 2009.
Microsoft Corporation, (1996). “Microsoft Outlines Intranet Strategy, Demonstrates Wide Range of New Intranet-Related Products And Future Technologies”. 2009. Microsoft Corporation.
Parker, G. and van Alstyne, M. (2002). “Information complements, substitutes, strategic product design”. Sponsored by NSF Career award. 2009. Web.
Worley,C.; Mohrman, S. and Winby, S. (2007). “Accelerating strategy and complex change: The role of large group interventions”. Centre for Effective organizations, Web.
Kinetic Xbox is a system that uses infrared translates 3D body motion to control video games. Rare and prime sense companies because of technological competition in the Microsoft world introduced the product. Bill Gates and Paul Allen following a series of revolution of innovations founded Microsoft Corporation in 1975 and introduced its second language Fortran in 1977.
This led to its success of the Microsoft 8080 basics in the ICP million dollar awards launched in 1979. In 1983, the Microsoft Company released Microsoft Word to compete with MS-DOS operating system that IBM Company introduced in 1981.
Due to competition in the market, Microsoft proceeded to release OS/2 in December 1987, Windows 3.0 in 1990, and Windows 95 to replace MS-DOS in 1995. Microsoft produced windows pc operating systems, office suite of productivity software, windows and SQL servers, Xbox 360, Bing internet search, business software, and software for mobile devices.
The mission of Microsoft is to enhance the potential of business people to utilize resources to maximize their profits. In 2001, Microsoft XP replaces Windows 95 operating system with the innovation of Xbox that is one of the two largest gaming devices in the world. Later, Microsoft releases Xbox 360 in 2005. Xbox 360 creates the impact of Microsoft development by introducing unique products such as the Kinetic.
Kinetic Xbox 360 enables the user to use the movement of the parts of the body and voice to control video games. No devices or gadgets required. The product attracts the attention and interest of many consumers due to the unique and advanced entertainment, exercise and socialization. However, the product is very expensive and although the consumers need it, they are not willing to spend on the product.
This is due to the availability of close substitutes from its competitors Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii, which are less costly. The market is monopolistic hence; the Microsoft products have control over their price since they are close substitutes. This means that Kinetic Xbox 360 can only earn profit in the short run since the competitors or new entries introduce products that compete with the product in the end.
Kinetic Xbox segments its markets to focus on subsets of potential customers. In geographic segmentation, the product targets developed countries such as North America, Europe, China, and Japan where the product is affordable by a large number of consumers. Behavioral segmentation stimulates customer demand in the use of a wave of a hand and voice to control video games.
The product uses psychographic segmentation by introducing social networking through face book partnership, extending the product in the mobile phones, and TV and computer systems game entertainment. Demographic segmentation allows the product to provide family entertainment.
We recommend expansion of markets in other countries or target markets to attract a substantial market share. Due to the nature of the market, lowering the price of the product enables survival in the end. The urge to innovate competitor products sends warning to the Company to improve technology of the product to maintain top position in the market.
The company ensures brand loyalty and market control by creating customer experience, customer relationship, sense of pride and belongingness, and freedom of customer expression. These help the product compete effectively and efficiently during its future performance in the market.
Due to the complexity of choice and management of distribution channels, the company makes decisions based on the structures of distribution, patterns of distribution channels, and the intermediaries. Consistent and controlled promotional programs enhance communication of the company and its consumers to increase product awareness and demand levels.
This essay discuss about the intervention of a new technique in an organization. For any changes in an organization faces a lot of barriers. Here the organization id Microsoft and their new project is Net.
Introduction
This essay is handle topic related to the changes occurred in Microsoft. Before that change, various problems were happened. Some type internal conflict was raised based on the change. The basic change and the reason behind that etc. are discussed in this essay
Nature of the change occurred in Microsoft
Microsoft was decided to implement a new plan. It is Net technology. Here the entire organization is not changed. There are different types of organizational change. Here the change happened in Microsoft can be related with more than one such types. It is a subsystem change and it is a planned and developmental change. Subsystem change simply means addition or removal of a service or technology. (Major Types of Organizational Change).
Planned change means leaders in the organization feel the necessity of some changes and they decided to accomplish the change. Here the Chairman of Microsoft William H. Gates III and CEO Steven A. Ballmer were planned and decided to accept the new plan Net and integrate this technology with the existing Windows system. (Microsoft’s Big Bet).
At that time and now also Microsoft’s operating system Windows is so popular. Developmental change means a positive situation become more successful. Microsoft is a successful company. The management thought that Net technology has a bright future. So after implementing the Net technology in future the annual profit of the Microsoft will increase.
Reason for the change
Every change is an initial step for the development of an organization. It indicates the maturity and static nature of the organization. (Jain, and Triandis, 222).
At the time when company decided to accept Net technology their existing field windows is working successfully. They get $23 billion per year. But it is not crucial for business. Net is crucial for business. Both business and consumers use this technology for retrieving information and for transactions. They understand that Net becomes as the center of the new web world. So the technology developments in the market demand force to the Microsoft to going for this technology.
Barriers faced by Microsoft and their related experiences
Every new technology faces a lot of barriers when it comes firstly in the market. The most important one among these is the both employees and management’s unwillingness to change. Also sometimes the changes may demand different kinds of shifts like job shifting, management shifting etc. This is also happened in Microsoft the case of Net technology. Windows management strongly resisted the decision taken by the company. They have a lot of reason for that. Someone suggests dividing the Microsoft Company into two like one company for windows and other for Net. But Bill gates and Ballmer did not agree with such kind of opinions. They wish to go ahead with both of this like holding hands.
It is not the first time Microsoft faced this kind of difficult situation. At 1980 when company shifted from DOS to Windows the same kind of problem was occurred. At that many employees who worked on DOS time lose their interest.
Is it a necessary change?
Bill Gates and his coworkers had understand the explosive growth if Internet and its influence in the market. To overcome such situation some changers in technology especially in computer field was necessary. At the same time their existing product Windows was going in a successful manner. So Microsoft’s decision to introduce the new concept Net and integrate it with Windows is a necessary change.
Aftereffects of the change
They faced a lot of troubles in their path. But finally they succeeded. They introduce their product. Net in which two techniques Net and Windows were intertwined. (Microsoft’s Big Bet). Through this project they provide job opportunity or many peoples. They also decide to introduce new version of the existing project.
Conclusion
Organizational change is always a challenging task. For handling this successfully proper leading and support from the followers are essential. Microsoft also faces a lot of problems at their new project. They overcome all the issues successfully. Top management of Microsoft had a deep knowledge in the existing and future market and they have a good leadership. It is the secret of their success.
A web browser is a piece of software that requests, decodes and then presents the files that constitute internet pages. “Without doubt Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox are by far the frequently used browsers, but there are most certainly at least 50 to 70 others that are readily available for public use, and nearly all of them have their loyal followers and supporters” (Ackoff, 1989, p. 3).
On the other hand, two other main players in the web browser business are Google’s Chrome and Opera, which have superseded many versions. Different browsers give the impression to have diverse degrees of utility reliant on the materials to be gained access to and the use to be made of the material by the recipient.
The progressive growth of the internet in the 1990s and 2000s shows that present browsers with small market stocks have increased their market share as compared to previous times. For example, 90% market segment in 1997 represented approximately 60 million users, but by the end the 2007 fiscal year, 9% market segment represented over 90 million users. (Bellinger, Durval & Mills, 2009, p.1)
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has gone through evolution since 1995 when it first appeared for use up to date. Mozilla which appeared in market much later as compared to Internet Explorer in 1998 also has evolved albeit at a faster rate. Apart from the two that are widely used, there is Opera and Phoenix which developed later, but their progress has not been so fast.
Different web browsers are compatible to different operating system which in some way affects the processing speed of browsers. There are settings that can make different browsers (especially earlier versions) to be compatible with different Operating Systems (Ackoff, 1989).
Mozilla’s Firefox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are more compatible with many both earlier and later versions of the Operating System while on the other hand Opera and Phoenix are not compatible with earlier versions since they do not have in-built settings of compatibility (Blair, 2011).
Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are the browsers that I often use. They are easy to access and their speed is relatively high. The news sites that I visit most are nation.co.ke and eaststandard.net since I like remaining updated with world events taking place in the news. These are news sites which have clear pictures.
Using the above browsers is easy since they do not need authority to get access the sites (Prince, 2008). Microsoft’s Internet Explorer which is inbuilt in new laptops and computers further makes it affordable to more people since no expenses are incurred of buying it (Ackoff, 1989).
Internet Explorer and Mozilla they are user-friendly because they have dialogue boxes which appear on the screen during browsing. Such dialogue boxes help one to avoid suspicious sites and viruses.
They offer different internet suggestions which would be helpful to the user depending on the sites that are commonly accessed by the user. Moreover, browsing is much faster and direct as opposed to Opera and Phoenix which are relatively harder to use while browsing (Bellinger, Durval & Mills, 2009).
With recent development of mobile internet, it is of concern that there could be web browsers that are compatible with mobile settings. However, research (Blair, 2011) shows that results are unknown when these web browsers can be installed in mobile phones for full time use.
The explanation for this is that some the software required is bulky in size (in terms of their storage requirement in Mega Bundles (MB)) which may exceed most phone memories. As a response to this challenge, Opera has developed its browser to be able to fit most mobile phone settings which is called Opera mini which makes phone browsing fast and reliable (Gadomski, 1999).
“Browsing features like Bookmark, Download and Password Management as well as Spell checking, Search engine, toolbar, and Per-site security configuration have been used to make browsing easier and friendlier” (Gadomski, 1999, p.48). All these features are accessible when one is using Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox but Opera and Phoenix have limited access to such features.
As technology continues to develop more and more so is web browsing development, and the corollary of these developments is that there has been an increase in features, utilities and tools that are user friendly and more affordable for users.
References
Ackoff, R.L. (1989). From data to wisdom. Journal of Applies Systems Analysis, 16(2), 3-9.
It is difficult to clearly define whether older computers that utilized older versions of Windows should be considered a relevant market because older operating systems may be updated, which would force them to include a free version of the Microsoft Internet Explorer that caused the company to be seen as a dominant force in the market. Moreover, Microsoft operating systems were already present on 80% of all the computers in the market.
This makes the majority of the computer users potential buyers of the new Microsoft operating system. The incompatibility of older software and the enhanced capabilities of the new operating system in some cases force users to upgrade to perform their job, meaning that they would not have a choice but receive Internet Explorer for free with the purchase of the new system. While it is not a guarantee that all the older users would update to the new software, their potential number is high enough to consider Microsoft to have a “dominant market position” in the operating systems market.
Microsoft’s Anti-Competitive Conduct
Microsoft was one of the first companies to gain major control over the personal computer market due to the introduction of DOS, and subsequently Windows. Initially, the almost universal presence of their operating systems allowed for a lot of competition in the software market because programmers had a single operating system to create programs for. Business applications such as spreadsheet managers, calculators, text and document managers, as well as other applications were gaining popularity and pieces of the market.
However, this process did not last long as Microsoft began bundling its versions of such applications with the new iterations of its operating systems. The market adjusted but when Microsoft began providing its internet browser for free, it became a large issue. At the moment, internet browsers were expensive pieces of software that competed with each other, while improving their features. By providing a free and fully functional version of the same product, Microsoft began acting beyond the fair competition.
Other companies would not be able to compete with Microsoft because their survival depended on people purchasing their software. At the same time, Microsoft was able to provide it preinstalled, and for free by subsidizing it from the price of the operating system itself. Internet browsers have a very specific set of features, and most users would not have a desire to purchase better products if the free one is capable of all of them.
Possible Remedies if the Sherman Act is Violated
It is possible to imagine a scenario in which Microsoft is found guilty of violating the Sherman Act. Since the issue of the case is in the unfair competition due to forced and free installation of Internet Explorer with the purchase of the new Windows operating system, Microsoft may have to make it completely optional. The company may also have to provide it at a competitive, but fair cost. It would be important to establish that the market contains multiple companies that provide internet browsers.
This could be done by stocking internet explorer as another type of the browser on store shelves or advertising it in the same manner as the competition. The free and built-in nature of Internet Explorer created a market dynamic in which it was impossible to sell an internet browser, effectively destroying the market altogether.
Internet technology inspired a business and commerce revolution not witnessed before. Once used for military purposes, internet communication nowadays provides an important platform for business to business, and business to customer interaction. Company websites have become primary tools where potential customers source for information on particular corporate products before making the actual purchase.
Besides, websites have become important cost-effective marketing platforms where businesses launch products and display crucial marketing information for the end users (Arnold, J. et al, 2011, p. 56).
Despite the unmistakable advantage however, the rise of the internet and other online technologies have led to creation of security loopholes that, when maliciously exploited, negatively exposes the concerned businesses (Garfinkel & Spafford, 2002, p. 48).
This discussion will focus on internet technology, marketing and security from the perspective of Microsoft, a leading US software development firm whose products like windows have become a household name.
Specifically, the discussion will concentrate on description and evaluation of Microsoft’s website in terms of product information, corporate contact information, tailoring of products for customers based on their taste and provision of customer information at purchase.
Additionally, there will be an analysis and evaluation of Microsoft’s privacy and security policies as well as the envisaged corporate response to a security breach. In this regard, there will be special emphasis on a security breach on the company’s website and system sometime on
October this year, which caused a scare among customers and prompted a quick reaction from Microsoft’s security team. Furthermore, the discussion will tackle the company’s internet marketing strategies and the competitive advantage that its website offers. Finally, there will be recommendations on two tools that the author feels are necessary in the firm to ensure greater security for its customers.
Microsoft Website
A corporate website is a business’s online window and a vital gateway to online business success (Catalano & Smith, 2000, p. 118). While a “good” corporate website is relative, web content in any credible website must identify specific problems to which they extend solutions to customers as well as the important goals they help customers attain.
Additionally, web content must establish credibility and also present a call to action that nudges the customer to take the next step in buying the product or service.
In Microsoft’s case, the website home page conspicuously displays the tabs linking to product information. Though a bit cluttered, the respective pages provide a somewhat brief explanation of the products under software, business software and hardware and entertainment categories.
The approach the company has undertaken in dispensing its product information is understandable given the large portfolio of the products they offer under every category.
The layout through the product information arrangement in the pages displays a subtle acknowledgement of the size of the product portfolio hence the efforts to balance the information available. In a nutshell, Microsoft’s website offers precise product information that is necessary and enough to help a potential customer make an informed decision.
On a face value, the company’s website has not given any special emphasis on the contact information. The website displays the “contact us” tab in the traditional way that is characteristic of most corporate and private websites.
The “contact us” link however leads to a detailed page that offers e-mail, chat and telephone links through which to reach the company. The above three links further have sub links that easily enable a prospective customer to access the required information with more precision. It is necessary however, to enhance the “contact us” link on the home page in a way that enhances a “good” customer service perception.
There is a concerted effort to develop products to the specific needs of customers. Given the dynamic and varying nature of corporate needs, Microsoft’s website has done well in expounding the basic meaning of products, where they suit and where they best fit.
One of the strengths the website displays concerning customization of products for customers is avoidance of blanket statements that tend to lure customers with the belief that the company can sort their software problems “no matter what they are”.
Microsoft’s website lacks an online portal that will enable customers place online orders, perhaps due to the complexity and specificity of the company’s products. It is apparent that the company relies on the contact information “further assistance” and possibly for provision of customer information on purchase.
As a result, there is an acute lack of customer purchase information in the website. Despite the links however, it is a strategic failure for the website not to avail such information even in the most general terms.
Microsoft Internet Marketing Strategies and Competitive Advantage
Initially, Microsoft’s resources and innovation helped it to enjoy some sort of monopoly status in internet and software development market. However, the company nowadays is facing stiff completion from counterfeits and other rising companies such as Google and Apple (Boone & Kurtz, 2011, p. 175).
The company has in place a marketing strategy that places emphasis on internet marketing. Some of the internet strategies include, collaboration with social networking sites especially aimed at promoting its search engine Bing, placing ads in rival search engines and promoting offers through their main website (Beyazitoglu, 2010, p. 98).
While the above strategies are likely to pay dividends, they are part of the traditional internet marketing strategies whose effectiveness is likely to face limitation. However, social networking sites are yet to give their full potential in terms of marketing, hence it is a smart strategy which the company needs to improve and concentrate on in order to stay competitive.
According to McDaniel & Gitman (2008, p. 108), competitive advantage is largely based on a company’s ability to outdo competitors by doing what they do better or by doing it in a completely different way. While Microsoft’s website is up to date, it offers little competitive advantage compared to its rivals.
The only competitive advantage perhaps the website provides is the fact that is offers the company’s flagship products like Windows which have almost become a necessity for all computer users.
Privacy/ Security Policy and Response to Security Breach
In the backdrop of increased corporate espionage, web security has become a top priority in many organizations (Mackey, 2003, p. 78). Microsoft has an elaborate privacy policy that clearly stipulates the kind of information the company collects from the website and what it uses it for.
According to the policy, the company clarifies that it collects personal information with a customer’s consent, explains the uses of the personal information, gives information on how to contact it in case of any issue regarding privacy and also highlights on a customer’s choices and options concerning promotional communication from the company.
Generally, the policy is comprehensive and addresses most of the concerns an average Microsoft website users would be interested in regarding privacy. It is important to note that Microsoft has one of the most elaborate cyber security systems in the corporate world (Ratliff & Ballard, 2006, p. 24).
Despite assurance of security of personal information in the website, an attack on the website in October this year cast doubt on the company’s ability to detect and repulse hackers out to siphon information. In the attack, hackers remotely transferred source codes from the Microsoft website by sending passwords to an external e-mail account in Russia.
The attack that according to the company lasted for 12 days used the QAZ Trojan malware which gained access to the company system through an employee e-mail. It is possible that Microsoft did not secure their network’s access points effectively exposing their remote access system that resulted in security breakdown.
The company’s response to the breach included invitation of FBI Computer Analysis Response Team that examined the company’s PC’s and including a review of network logs whose sole aim was to detect traceable fingerprints of the intruder.
Additionally, Microsoft blocked and in some cases limited access of some of its employees to its network outside their office. By this action, Microsoft prevented a return of any hacker to its network.
Security Recommendations
In light of the above security breach it is important that the company beefs up its virus scanning/protection as well as network access point protection. The above attack may have happened due to a breakdown of virus and access point protection systems.
Logging systems also have become some of the most vulnerable security points in any network system (Bhasin, 2003, p. 67). It is also important that the company disables unused ports besides initiating close monitoring of the logging system.
Conclusion
Given its ability to help businesses slash costs like in the case of Dell, the internet’s potential in business and commerce is yet to reach its epitome. Besides e-commerce, there are still more innovative applications that corporations are yet to exploit. Growing global access to the internet, especially by previously unreached populations especially in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe offer a great marketing opportunity.
However, the threat from illegal intrusion is also growing by the day. It is therefore prudent for corporations to invest in secure internet technologies through research and development in order to ensure safe internet transactions, while guarding against data theft.
References
Arnold, J. et al. (2011). Web Marketing All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies. New York: Springer Verlag.
Beyazitoglu, F. (2010). Business Marketing – the Case of Microsoft. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Bhasin, S. (2003). Web security basics. London: Sage Publications.
This article is a discussion on how one can use Microsoft office 2003 effectively. In this article, Randall explains the different ways through which one can improve his speed and accuracy while using Microsoft office. These ways are what Randall calls Microsoft tips and tricks. The five tips explained by the article touches mainly on Microsoft Office Outlook and Word.
For instance the first tip highlights the usefulness of the control key to Microsoft Office Outlook. The other tips talk about some of the important features of Microsoft Word 2003. Although this article is consistent with earlier knowledge on Microsoft product, I do not recommend people to read it as it is outdated. Nonetheless, this paper presents a summary and a short critique of the article.
Randall summarizes five tips in this article. The first tip explains how the control key makes Microsoft outlook easier to use and navigate. Randall uses the other four tips to explain how Microsoft Office Word 2003 can be used effectively. He starts by explaining the importance of the task pane. The drop-down arrow in the task pane enables one to view a variety of options in Microsoft Word 2003.
Some of these options include clipboard, clipart and formatting. The second tip entails checking the size of a folder and a sample of what it carries. Pointing at a folder for around two seconds completes this task. The third tip explains how a person can secure his documents. Randall reiterates that file encryption is the surest way of working with confidential files. The last tip talks about how the task pane can be manipulated to ensure that the slide layout is formatted through a single click.
Randall’s article would have been very useful nine years ago. By then, Microsoft Office 2003 was the latest invention. In view of that, Randall’s article is consistent with my prior knowledge of Microsoft Products. However, Microsoft and other companies have developed advanced office software. For that reason, Microsoft Office 2003 has been overtaken by events.
Some of the features that Randall talks about are not part of Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010. For instance, Microsoft Word 2007 uses the ribbon as its user interface unlike Microsoft Word 2003. Randall explained that one has to scroll through menus such as the task pane to locate most options in Microsoft Word 2003. In contrast, the Ribbon in Microsoft Word 2007 enables one to easily locate all options. This saves time and energy. For that reason, I discourage any progressive person from reading this article.
To me, this article is old and has no place in a world that is experiencing a technology invention every now and then. Nonetheless, Randall’s article can be used to come up with similar summaries. For instance, one can use the article’s format to come up with tips and tricks that can make Microsoft Office 2010 easier to use.
Apart from saving time and making work easier, the tips in this article are a joy to learn. Randall’s article focuses on suggestions that help Microsoft office 2003 users work smarter. Nonetheless, this article can not be applied in 2013 as it is fairly old. Microsoft has already launched office suits that are more advanced than Microsoft Office 2003. However, lessons drawn from the article can be applied to the latest versions of Microsoft office.
References
Randall, G. (2005). Microsoft tips and tricks. Armed Forces Comptroller, 50 (4)
Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular, widely used, electronic substitute for the old visual aids like hand-drawn blackboards or whiteboards, or mechanically created slides, with overhead projectors. “PowerPoint was initially developed in 1984 by Forethought, Inc., Sunnyvale, California, for the Macintosh computer. In 1987, Forethought was bought by Microsoft and became Microsoft’s Graphics Business Unit, which continued to further develop the software.” (Microsoft powerpoint, 2009).
Beginning from the 1987 PowerPoint 1.0 for Mac OS classic version, Microsoft has managed to bring around more than fifteen versions into the market. Presently it is a part of the Microsoft Office suite. The Microsoft Office suite is developed to run on various Operating Systems like Microsoft Windows, the Mac OS, and Linux (with the help of Wine compatibility layer-Used for running windows application in Linux). The other applications that are available in the latest Microsoft Office suite include Microsoft office tools, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office Outlook with business contact manager, Microsoft Office Visio, Microsoft office publisher, Microsoft office Accounting express, etc.
Beginning with Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft had revised the brand name by calling it Microsoft Office PowerPoint instead of just Microsoft PowerPoint. The current versions available from Microsoft are Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 (Windows OS) and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2008 (Mac OS). The latest version of the Microsoft Office system program is a 32-bit application and can run on a Windows 64-bit platform (Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista). The entire office suite requires a minimum of 500MHz processor with 256 MB RAM and 1.5GB hard disk. The coming version from Microsoft will be Microsoft Office 2009 (also known as Office 14). Also, free trials, latest upgrades, and customization options are available in Microsoft office online.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation tool which helps the users to create efficient, professional, dynamic presentations. The latest versions are so professional that they integrate workflows and provide a medium to share information easily. This popular presentation software has a wide range of users like business people, students, and educators. In corporate businesses it is often used to create professional presentations and publicity presentations, in order to communicate with the clients and also for the internal communication among the different levels of workflow of the organization. Students and tutors use this wonderful presentation tool for creating training materials, status reports on training classes etc.
PowerPoint presentation consists of a number of individual pages or slides, which in turn may contain text, graphics, and multimedia files.The presentation can be made more interesting by adding the various animation options present. It can apply a consistent style for a presentation using a template(Slide Master). The presentation can either be displayed on a computer or the user can take print-outs of the presentation. The same can also be projected over a screen addressing a wide range of audience, using a video projector.Other types of Presentation equipments include digital projectors, light pens, smart boards etc.Although the most well known presentation program is Microsoft PowerPoint, there are alternatives such as OpenOffice.org Impress, Keynote from Apple, Adobe Acrobat etc.
A picture is worth a thousand words:- This saying is particularly true for PowerPoint as it is capable of transmitting the information directly to the brains of the audience. As a tutor myself have some experiences with the amazing benefits of the software.We were in charge of an awareness programme among the students.The whole school has to be addressed and we chose Microsoft powerpoint slides for the presentation. The response from the children was amazing as it was planned to be an interactive session. In my assessment, the ease of use and the relatively less learning-effort refers to the popularity of the software.
The simplicity of presentation software can save a lot of time thereby increasing the productivity.At the same time it can effectively convey the contents of the presentation to the audience through the various inbuilt features available (namely use of the movies and voice files and animation optiions). The latest versions already have efficient tools for business presentations. It will be more beneficial to have more templates like calenders, year planners, event management tools integrated to the current version. It is evident from the widespread use of the software that it is a powerful and flexible tool than any of the alternatives available.
It serves as a motivational tool for learning and encourages the learning interests of the audience.A professionally created and effectively presented PowerPoint presentation can make wonders in the perspectives of both presenters and audience.